Yesterday’s price action was very much driven on hopes that lawmakers in Washington will come to their senses and that the US economy will see another stimulus aid package. The stimulus talk has stretched for several months and the time is really running out as the Federal funding is also about to dry up. Senate Majority leaders have once again assured US citizens that lawmakers will work through the weekend to find a solution. 

Asian Markets 

The Asian stock market traded mostly lower on the final trading day of the week. At the time of writing this, the Nikkei index was trading lower with a loss of 0.16%. The Shanghai index fell to 0.34%, while the HSI index declined by 0.95%. The ASX index dropped by 1.20%.

Dow Jones and S&P 500: Market Breadth

The Dow Jones’ market gained further strength as the rally continues. 90% of the Dow Jones stocks traded above their 200-day moving average. 

The S&P 500 stock breadth is maintaining its momentum. 91% of the S&P 500 shares traded above their 200-day moving average. 

Dow Jones Futures Today

The Dow Jones futures are trading lower by 70 points today. In terms of economic indicators, investors will be looking at the UK’s retail sales data more closely, which is due on Friday. The forecast is for -0.4%, while the previous reading was at 1.2%. 

The Dow Jones futures are set to close a week, which has made a lower low, and a lower high. This means that the bulls have been unable to push the markets higher. Overall, the trend is still to the upside as the Dow Jones is trading above the 50, 100 and 200-day SMA on the daily time frame.

In terms of volatility, it is pretty much sitting at its minimum level as the price is trading near the 20-day SMA. The near term support is at 29748 and the resistance is at 30,146.

The S&P 500 futures, which represent the broader stock market, have shown more strength this week as they have recorded a new record high.

The price has also logged a new lower high as compared to last week, which confirms the bull strength.

As for the RSI on the weekly time frame, there is no doubt that the S&P 500 price is due for a correction and this could take place in the coming weeks. Having said that, the RSI has been trading near its overbought zone since the end of October and ever since, we have not seen any major correction. 

Stock Market Rally

The S&P 500 stock index closed at a record high yesterday; the index advanced by 0.58%. The real estate sector led the index lower – all 9 out of 11 sectors closed lower. 

The Dow index also advanced yesterday; the Dow stocks moved the index higher by 0.49%. 21 shares advanced, while 7 shares closed lower. 

The NASDAQ composite, a tech-savvy index, closed higher by 0.84% yesterday. 

S&P 500 Leaders and Laggards: Lennar and Marathon

Lennar stock contributed the biggest gain, soaring 7.62%. Marathon Petroleum was the largest drag; it fell by 2.57%. The S&P 500 stock index is up 15% so far this year.

Dow Jones Leaders and Laggards: Home Depot and Boeing 

Home Depot provided the biggest help for the Dow Jones; it advanced by 1.62%, while Boeing was the largest decliner, it fell by 2.05%. 

Bitcoin 

The crypto king is up 2202% year to date. Investors believe that the cryptocurrency can easily reach the 25K price and after breaking that, the next price level to watch for bitcoin traders is the 30K price mark.